Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Sabzi of the Day - Fast and Fresh: 20-Minute Sabzi Recipes for Busy Days

Working overtime in the office? No time to cook a meal? Worry not! Here are some 20-minute recipes for you

Work-life balance is a term we often hear or read in panel discussions or read lengthy paragraphs on LinkedIn, but in reality, most working people like you and I do not really have a work-life balance. Overtime on weekdays and work even on weekends is the life we lead, skipping everything, even timely meals.

It is particularly challenging for those who live alone and cannot afford a cook, so they often skip meals or consume two-minute noodles. Even those without jobs who stay at home and take care of the family sometimes do not have time to cook a proper meal.

Therefore, for all those unfortunate souls, we have compiled a list of 20-minute recipes.

Mixed vegetable fry     

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • Chopped onion
  • Chopped beans
  • Chopped carrot
  • Chopped mushroom
  • Chopped cauliflower
  • Cubed boiled potatoes
  • Slit green chillies
  • Turmeric powder
  • Coriander powder
  • Cumin powder
  • Red-chilli powder
  • Salt
  • Any cooking oil of your choice

Recipe

  • Start by heating the oil
  • Add all the above-mentioned vegetables together and stir-fry them on a medium flame for five minutes.
  • Turn the flame higher and add the masalas along with salt as per your taste.
  • Stir-fry them for another five minutes and put off the flame.
  • Close the lid and let it cook for 10 minutes in the heat.
  • Serve with roti or parathas.
  • Do not worry if the texture is crunchy because crunchy is good! You have added boiled potatoes, and that is the only thing that needs to be a hit mushy.

(Credit- Instagram/@mrs.lina_maran)

Vegetable moong daal

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • Moong daal
  • Cubed carrots
  • Peas
  • Cubed potatoes
  • Pieces of cauliflower
  • Chopped beans
  • Kalonji (Nigella seeds)
  • Turmeric
  • Dry red chillies
  • Mustard oil
  • Asafoetida
  • Salt

Recipe

  • Heat mustard oil in a pressure cooker.
  • Temper kalonji and dry red chillies.
  • Once the ingredients splutter, add all the vegetables and fry them till they turn golden brown. On high flame, it should not take more than five minutes.
  • Add moong daal followed by a tablespoon of turmeric and red chillies.
  • Sprinkle asafoetida and add salt as per your taste.
  • Add water to the cooker and let the cooker create steam.
  • Five whistles of the cooker and your vegetable moong daal are ready to be eaten with rice or roti.

(Credit- Instagram/@ funfoodandfrolic)

Shredded bottle gourd (lauki) stir fry

Cooking time: 30 min

Ingredients

  • Shredded lauki
  • Kalonji (Nigella seeds)
  • Dry red chillies
  • Bay leaves
  • Turmeric powder
  • Coriander powder
  • Chopped coriander leaves
  • Salt
  • Mustard oil

Recipe

  • Heat the mustard oil and temper the nigella seeds, red dry chillies, and bay leaves.
  • Add the shredded lauki and stir-fry on high flame for 10 minutes.
  • Add the masalas with salt as per your requirement and continue frying for another five minutes.
  • Add half a cup of water, turn off the gas, and close the lid for another five minutes.
  • Note that water should not be added too much because we want the lauki to be dry, not a curry.
  • Take off the lid, and the lauki fry is ready to be eaten with roti.
  • You can even eat it with rice and daal.

(Credit- chef_prateek_kitchen)

We hope these recipes will help during your tough days. They may not be the tastiest of recipes, but they will provide you with adequate nutrients and energy without taking much of your time.